High Desert will join the collection of comedies on Apple TV+ when it premieres in May. This won’t be light fare, as it follows an addict who decides to become a private investigator.
The upcoming series stars Patricia Arquette, winner of several Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy awards.
Patricia Arquette stars in both High Desert and Severance on Apple TV+
Apple’s streaming video service includes an array of comedies, none more famous than Ted Lasso. But don’t expect another uber-optimistic, feel-good show from High Desert. This is dark comedy.
Apple’s official description makes that clear:
“High Desert follows Peggy (Arquette), an on-again-off-again addict who decides to make a new start after the death of her beloved mother, with whom she lived in the small desert town of Yucca Valley, California, and makes a life-changing decision to become a private investigator.”
Arquette already stars in Severance, a rather creepy — and very popular — drama on Apple TV+. And Ben Stiller is a producer on both shows.
Also in High Desert are Matt Dillon, Christine Taylor, Weruche Opia, Brad Garrett, Bernadette Peters and Rupert Friend.
The series was created and written by Nancy Fichman (Nurse Jackie, Damages), Katie Ford (Miss Congeniality) and Jennifer Hoppe (Grace and Frankie, Nurse Jackie, Damages). It’s directed by Emmy winner Jay Roach.
High Desert premieres May 17
The half-hour dark comedy premieres Wednesday, May 17, 2023, exclusively on Apple TV+. Three episodes will launch the series, and the remaining five will appear weekly on following Wednesdays.
Watching comes with a $6.99-per-month subscription to Apple TV+. Other comedies already on the stream include the aforementioned Ted Lasso, the gamer laugh-a-thon Mythic Quest, fantastical musical Schmigadoon!, inventive whodunnit The Afterparty, animated sitcom Central Park and stellar Irish dark comedy Bad Sisters.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
